Rumford led by five strokes at 17-under 199 after 54 holes of stroke play in the experimental golf tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Western Australia, which is being sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian tours.

Eliminations during three rounds of stroke play whittled the field down to 24 for five six-hole rounds of match play on Sunday. The top eight seeds, led by Rumford, had a first-round bye.

Favorite Louis Oosthuizen, who had a share of second spot at 12 under going into the match play, lost to Adam Bland in the quarterfinals after hitting his tee shot into a bunker on the third shootout hole and then missing a long par putt.

Rumford beat Bland in the semifinals and then was too consistent against 17-year-old Phachara.

The 39-year-old Rumford lost his European Tour card last year but has earned back full status with his first win on the tour since 2013.

Round 3 - Brett Rumford leads heading in to Sunday

February 19, 2017

Brett Rumford of Australia shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to lead the World Super 6 tournament by five strokes and guarantee himself a bye in the first round of match play.

Rumford had a 17-under total of 199 in the tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Western Australia, which is being sanctioned by the European, Australian and Asian tours.

Tied for second on Saturday were former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen (67), Canadian Austin Connelly (66) and Australians Jason Scrivener (66), Adam Blyth (68), Lucas Herbert (69) and Steven Jeffress (66). All will receive first-round byes in the six-hole match play on Sunday for being in the top eight after three rounds.

The tournament was cut to 24 players after the third round.

A purpose-built 90-meter (295-foot) hole has been constructed at Lake Karrinyup for the tournament, with a new tee placed adjacent to the 18th fairway and utilizing the 18th green. It will be played out once and if players remain tied at the end of match play, they will return to the new tee to hit one shot and whoever gets closest to the pin will be the winner.

Round 2 - Brett Rumford moves two clear

February 18, 2017

Brett Rumford shot a 7-under 65 Friday to take a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the World Super 6 golf tournament at Lake Karrinyup.

Rumford had a two-round total of 13-under 131 in the European Tour event which is also being sanctioned by the Australian and Asian tours.

David Bransdon (64) was in second place, with Steven Jeffress (66) in third, another stroke behind. Lucas Herbert and Johannes Veerman, both with 68s, were at 9 under and former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen (68) was at 7-under.

The tournament featured a regular cut after the second round, reducing the field to the top 65 pros and ties. There will be a further cut to 24 players after the third round, with the top eight receiving a bye into the first of a series of match play events on Sunday.

Rumford said he was hoping to finish in the top eight.

''That's one less lottery round you have to deal with, isn't it?'' Rumford said. ''That's definitely a huge bonus qualifying inside that top eight, so it's definitely something I am thinking about.''

A purpose-built 90-meter hole has been constructed at Lake Karrinyup with a new tee placed adjacent to the 18th fairway and utilizing the 18th green. It will be played out once and if players remain tied in match play, they will return to the new tee and one shot - a nearest to the pin - will decide the winner.

Round 1 - Brett Rumford and Mark Foster top leaderboard

February 17, 2017

Brett Rumford and Mark Foster shot 6-under 66s Thursday to lead after the first round of the World Super 6 golf tournament at Lake Karrinyup, with 10 others a stroke off the lead of the European Tour event.

''No stretches of brilliance, just a consistent round of golf,'' the 39-year-old Rumford said.

The tournament, also sanctioned by the Australian and Asian tours, will feature three days of stroke play before switching to a match-play format in the final round when the top 24 golfers will play a series of six-hole knockout duels.

Robert Dinwiddie, Hideto Tanihara, Casey O'Toole and Johannes Veerman were among those tied for second with 67s. Former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen had a 69 while the top-ranked player in the tournament, No. 11 Alex Noren, shot 74.

Rumford said he was excited about the match-play component on Sunday.

''The one thing about stroke play is that you're playing against 156 other guys in the field,'' the Australian said. ''With match play, it's a different beast. And you see it every time in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, it brings out more the personality in the individuals when it goes one-on-one.''

The tournament features a regular cut after the second round, reducing the field to the top 65 pros and ties. There will be a further cut to 24 players after the third round, with the top eight receiving a bye into the first of a series of match play on Sunday.

A purpose-built 90-meter hole has been constructed at Lake Karrinyup with a new tee placed adjacent to the 18th fairway and utilizing the 18th green. It will be played out once and if players remain tied in match play, they will return to the new tee and one shot - a nearest to the pin - will decide the winner.